His Bought Fiancée (Wedded to the Sheikh Book 1) Read online

  “Did you fall asleep?” Ali asked.

  Alyssa pushed her sunglasses up to rub at her eyes. “Maybe. Hard to say.”

  She yawned. If she had taken a catnap, it had it only put her in a more relaxed state.

  Ali chuckled. “You were snoring a bit.”

  “Hey!” Alyssa poked his shoulder. “Why'd you ask me if I was sleeping, then?”

  Ali shrugged. “It’s cute when you snore.”

  Alyssa wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, but I don't do it all the time, right?”

  “I’m not answering that,” Ali responded.

  “You're cruel.”

  Shaking her head, Alyssa relaxed back against her mat. They were on a beach a short distance away from their hotel, but they’d seen very few people since setting up camp that morning, and Alyssa liked it that way. She felt they were in their own private spot, secluded from everyone and everything else. The world, she almost believed, had stopped spinning. It wouldn't be until they returned to New York that it would resume its movement.

  “You know,” Alyssa murmured, “yesterday, I was thinking life couldn't get any better. Now I see I was wrong.”

  Ali smiled and reached over to smooth his palm across her back. “This is only our first day here. We have four more to go.”

  “Doesn't matter. No way can it get better than this.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Um, yes,” Alyssa said, though the way he asked the question made her uncertain. Sitting up, she turned to face him straight-on. “Okay, give it up. What do you have planned? Surfing lessons? Swimming with dolphins?”

  “Are there dolphins here?” Ali asked, looking out to the water like he might find some flipping around just off shore.

  “That’s what the hotel pamphlet said.”

  “Hmm. Interesting.”

  “Ali,” Alyssa snapped. “Come on. Enough with the suspense.”

  Ali sighed dramatically. “I thought my surprises were impressing you.”

  “To a certain extent.” Alyssa waggled her fingers. “Come on. Give it up.”

  “I planned on saving this until tomorrow night.”

  Alyssa shrugged. “Okay. You're only making this worse.”

  “By worse do you mean more exciting?”

  Pushing off her mat, Alyssa launched herself at Ali. He was ready for her, though, and wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight against his chest.

  “Tell me!” Alyssa shrieked.

  “Tell you what?” Ali tickled her side, and Alyssa kicked her legs like a kid and pushed his hands away.

  “The surprise.” She made a pouty face. “Please, Ali. Pretty please.”

  Ali trailed his fingers up and down her arm. “If you insist. Alyssa Cambridge…”

  And then he dropped to one knee on the sand.

  Alyssa's jaw dropped open. “Oh my God, you’re not— What is happening?!”

  Reaching into his pocket, Ali pulled out a small jewelry box. As Alyssa watched, too stunned to move, he opened up the box and revealed a stunning diamond ring.

  “Alyssa Cambridge, will you marry me?”

  “Oh my God.” Alyssa covered her mouth as the night in front of the Eiffel Tower, just two weeks before, came back to her. She'd wanted so badly for Ali to propose, before she’d remembered that they hadn't even talked about marriage, so why should she expect it anytime soon?

  “By the way,” Ali added, “this is a real proposal, not a fake one.”

  Alyssa laughed, and without any warning, tears were streaming down her face. “I should hope so,” she said.

  “Alyssa…in the time I’ve known you, my life has changed completely. I have changed, and I only hope that I will continue to grow and become better—and that I should be so lucky as to do that by your side. So, please, allow me to ask again. Will you do me the honor of being my real fiancée?” Ali smiled nervously. “Unless there is something else you would rather be doing.”

  Alyssa wiped tears from her face and looked at him seriously. “Come to think of it, yes. There's something else I would rather be doing.”

  Ali's face fell, and immediately Alyssa couldn’t bear it. She pressed her palms to the sides of his face and leaned closer. “I would rather be your real wife,” she whispered.

  Ali’s smile lit up the whole beach. Taking the ring from the box, he slid it onto Alyssa’s waiting hand.

  “Wow, it’s gorgeous,” Alyssa said. “How did you know my size?”

  Ali grinned. “I might have had some help from Lucy.”

  “Dang.” Alyssa shook her head. “It's like my best friend has this double life I know nothing about!”

  Ali chuckled. “She also wanted to help plan the honeymoon. And the wedding. And the bridal shower.” Ali paused. “I believe she may be excited about all this.”

  Alyssa laughed. “Over-planning. Yep. That sounds like Lucy.”

  Ali rubbed her back. “Speaking of which, where do you want the honeymoon?”

  Alyssa rubbed her nose against his. “Wherever. I don't care, as long as I’m with you.”

  Ali leaned back to look her in the eye. “Are you being fake with me right now?”

  “Absolutely not,” Alyssa said. “Are you?”

  Ali ran his fingers through Alyssa’s hair. “My darling, there is absolutely nothing fake about this.”

  The End

  I hope you’ve enjoyed this first installment of Ali and Alyssa’s story. Sign up to my mailing list and get news, freebies and more, and keep reading for a sneak preview of book two!

  Love, Holly x

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  His Accidental Baby

  Wedded to the Sheikh Book Two

  Time for a tease!

  Up next is the first chapter of the next book in my Wedded to the Sheikh series, His Accidental Baby

  Happy reading!

  Holly x

  Copyright 2018 by Holly Rayner

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the explicit written permission of the author.

  All characters depicted in this fictional work are consenting adults, of at least eighteen years of age. Any resemblance to persons living or deceased, particular businesses, events, or exact locations are entirely coincidental.

  Chapter 1

  Alyssa

  “Sheikh Ali bin Talid,” the woman in a polka-dot bathing suit whispered to her disinterested husband. “That's who I was talking about. That fellow looks just like him.”

  The middle-aged couple passed by Alyssa and Ali’s umbrella, the man with his face in his phone and the woman shooting Ali what she probably thought was a surreptitious look.

  As the two trudged over the sand and up to the hotel, Alyssa turned to Ali with an amused look on her face. Reclined in his folding chair, he had a paperback open, but Alyssa knew he felt her gaze on him.

  “What?” Ali asked, the corner of his mouth twitching as he tried not to smile.

  “I’ve never been with you when you’ve been recognized.”

  “It doesn’t usually happen outside of Baqar,” Ali said matter-of-factly. He put his book down and looked at Alyssa. “I was tempted to laugh.”

  Alyssa giggled. “You didn’t want to stand up and say, ‘Hey, it is me! Sheikh Ali! Gather round. Take a picture, folks!’”

  Ali chortled. “Are you imitating someone in particular?”

  “Ah, forget about it.” Alyssa waved her hand and grabbed her sunscreen. “American humor. You wouldn’t get it.”

  “American humor, huh? I must have heard that a hundred times from you. Perhaps, darling, you’re not as funny as you believe.”

  Alyssa fake gasped and nearly dropped her sunscreen. “Ouch, my poor ego!”

  “I kid, Alyssa.” He smiled mischievously and held his hand
out for the sunscreen “Turn around. I need to get your back.”

  “I can reach,” Alyssa said, slathering sunscreen on the middle of her back.

  “But I want to touch you,” Ali said in a lower voice.

  “Oh.” A thrill went through Alyssa, and she handed the sunscreen over. “How can I say no to that?”

  Turning in her seat, she put her back to Ali. He pulled his chair closer to hers and began smoothing sunscreen across her back.

  “Did you not put this on two hours or so ago?” he asked.

  “Have you not noticed the way I burn?” Alyssa asked over her shoulder.

  “Ah. Yes. I forgot.”

  A short distance away, two small children—a boy and a girl—worked on a sandcastle while their parents sat under a cabana. The girl squatted down and dug her shovel into the sand, but something about the action annoyed the boy, because he crossed his arms, stamped his foot, and shouted, “No!”

  Alyssa chuckled to herself. “I like it here.”

  Ali still rubbed her back and shoulders, even though he had to have finished applying sunscreen by then—not that Alyssa minded the extra attention.

  “I do, as well,” he said.

  “We should move here,” she said wistfully.

  “We could.”

  At his serious tone, Alyssa turned around in the chair to face him. “I was kidding.”

  Ali lifted a shoulder. “We can live anywhere we want. My work has me constantly traveling, no matter where my home is.”

  “Mine doesn’t,” Alyssa pointed out.

  Ali smiled softly. “True. And you love your job.”

  “And New York.”

  “You complain about it all the time,” Ali said.

  “Yeah, because that’s what New Yorkers do. It’s our way of showing pride.” Alyssa cut her palm through the air and deepened her accent. “Hey! I’m walkin’, here!”

  “Now that one, I recognize.”

  Alyssa laughed. “Seriously, though, I can’t believe it’s been four months since we got engaged. That time has gone, like…wow.” She shook her head, not able to find the words.

  “A lot happened over the summer,” Ali agreed.

  He wasn’t kidding. Since Ali had slipped the engagement ring on Alyssa’s finger on a Costa Rican beach much like the one they sat on now, they had visited his parents together twice, Ali had resumed more responsibilities in the family business, and the two of them had moved in together.

  Alyssa had felt a tad guilty about the last change. Moving in with Lucy had been so exciting, and they’d had a fully fleshed-out plan for the next couple years of their lives. It hadn’t felt right to leave her best friend just because she’d gotten engaged.

  As it turned out, though, a classmate of Lucy’s had been talking about getting a place with a roommate, and Lucy had been happy to oblige. Her new spot in Chelsea was about as sweet as they came—thanks to the roommate’s uncle, who owned the building and rented out to his family on the cheap. It had exposed brick, towering ceilings, a rooftop with a garden, and it was cheaper than the place Lucy had given up.

  So, without any sort of warning, everything in life had worked out. The only one who hadn’t been completely happy with all the change was Ralph. The first week in Ali’s apartment, he’d scratched up the couches in retaliation.

  Hoping a little company might ease the pain, Alyssa and Ali had gotten him a gray kitten to befriend. Bringing Gambit home had been a test, as they’d promised each other they would take him back if Ralph couldn’t play nice. But Ralph had done more than be kind: he’d basically adopted the kitten, and now you couldn’t find one cat without the other. They ate together, played together, slept together, and spent hours lounging in the cat tower in the master bedroom’s window, looking down at the traffic and people below.

  Life, Alyssa was pleased to discover, only continued to get better.

  Ali pushed his fingers through his hair. “My hair is dry. Time for another swim.”

  Alyssa made a face. “How can you stand that water?”

  “You liked it last time.”

  “That was months ago,” Alyssa scoffed.

  While it was nice to lay out on the beach in Costa Rica’s balmy October weather, Alyssa had a completely different opinion of its water. It was way too chilly for her, and she didn't get how Ali could love it like he did.

  Ali grabbed her hips and pulled her across her chair till she was almost falling off of it.

  “Hey!” Alyssa protested.

  “All you need is to get into the water quickly. A nice dunk will do that.”

  “Ali,” Alyssa growled. “You better not.”

  He made a playful face, freezing like he was about to grab Alyssa and stand up.

  “What would you do about it?” Ali challenged.

  Alyssa glared at him. “Finger locks may be off limits in MMA, but there's no referee on this beach.”

  Ali’s eyebrows shot up. “I did not think you were paying attention to those fights.”

  “Oh, I was paying attention.” Alyssa waggled her brows. “I'm a mental ninja. You don't know when I'm checked in and when I'm not.”

  That was another positive thing that had happened over the summer: while just a few months ago, Ali had claimed he had no close friends, now, he had someone in New York he hung out with regularly.

  Ali’s new friend was an accountant, Kurt, who worked for Ali’s father, overseeing the New York businesses’ ledgers. Ali had known him for a while, but it wasn't until Kurt had invited him out for a drink one night that they’d become friends. Since then, they’d developed what Alyssa jokingly called a beautiful bromance. Several times, she and Kurt’s wife had joined the boys at their local sports bar to watch the fights—a hobby she never would have expected of bookish Kurt—and the ladies had paid half-attention while chatting over wine.

  Ali’s posture relaxed, and his hands drifted down to her knees. “What will we do, then, if I'm not to throw you in the water?”

  “Well, for one thing, we could talk about the wedding. We still don't have any plans for it.”

  “As if either one of our mothers could allow us to forget,” Ali said.

  Alyssa giggled. “True.”

  She lifted her left hand and gazed at the diamond ring there. Months of wearing it later, the sight of it still made her smile. It reminded her of the love she and Ali shared, of all the messes they had waded through and come out on the other side of, and all the days they had yet to live together.

  She hoped it would always be that way.

  “You know…” Alyssa slowly lifted her eyes to Ali’s, already feeling guilty about what she was about to say. “Getting married is important to me, but I don't really feel in any rush. We’ll spend the rest of our lives married, but we’ll never be able to get back this time where we’re engaged, and it’ll be over before we know it.”

  Ali nodded, and she could see from the look in his eyes that he understood.

  “Let us take our time, then,” he said.

  “But our moms…” Alyssa cringed.

  “We can tell them we’re waiting for the perfect venue to open up, and the wait might be as long as ten years.”

  “Ali!” Alyssa exclaimed. “We can’t do that to them. And, okay, when I said I wanted to take our time, I didn't mean ten years.”

  Ali laughed and kissed the corner of Alyssa’s mouth. “I know, my love. And of course, I was joking. We can’t distract our parents forever.”

  Thinking about their parents made Alyssa’s mood dampen a bit. After she and Ali had flown to Baqar months before to convince his parents their relationship was real and the fake engagement was done with, Ali’s mother and father had told Alyssa they admired her honesty.

  But though they had been nice to her since then, Alyssa got the sense that she was still seen as an outsider. As an American who didn't have any clout or social standing whatsoever, she perhaps didn't fit the mold Ali’s parents had hoped their son’s wife would.
>
  A part of her wanted to do anything she could to please them, but that was a bad idea. Such acts would only make her look desperate.

  “Hey.” Ali gently lifted Alyssa’s chin so they were eye to eye. “I do not care when we get married. I only care that you’re the woman I will spend the rest of my life with.”

  The light that was always present in her heart thanks to Ali’s love glowed like the sun, sending rays of warmth and joy through Alyssa.

  “Ditto,” she said.

  His Accidental Baby is available for pre-order on Amazon now!

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